David Byrne & Talking Heads Praise Selena Gomez’s “Bad Liar”

Selena Gomez took a gamble with her offbeat, alt-leaning “Bad Liar,” but it appears to have paid off. The catchy bop is currently sitting at number two on iTunes and was named Best New Track by Pitchfork. The pop star also won the approval of Talking Heads, the band she samples heavily on the track. “I really like the song…and her performance too,” revered frontman David Byrne tweeted this afternoon (May 18). “So great to hear the legacy of our song ‘Psycho Killer,’ and Tina’s legendary style of bass playing, quoted so prominently on Selena Gomez’ new song,” drummer Chris Franz added on Facebook.

“Was both a big surprise and a delight to learn that a new generation is getting introduced to both,” he added. As for bassist Tina Weymouth? “It’s good to be appreciated,” she wrote. According to a new interview with co-writer Justin Tranter, it was Julia Michaels’ idea to use the sample. It probably helped that Selena was already a big fan of the band, having first posted a video listening to their music way back in 2014. See Talking Heads’ commentary on “Bad Liar” below.